Will Republican Party’s close ties to GOP majorities make it harder to reach budget deal?

GOP freshman Rep. John Kriesel came to the Capitol on a promise to act independently. The afternoon following his victory in House District 57A, he stood in front of the Capitol press and alongside the GOP leadership and said he'd be willing to work with the Democratic governor and DFL legislators to do what was best for the state and his district. Compromise, he said, "is what keeps me from sleeping on the couch every night."

Newly-elected Republican National Committeewoman Pat Anderson is at odds with her party over a move to lobby for expanded gambling at Canterbury Park.

When Republicans from around the state flocked to the Ramada Mall of America last Saturday, there appeared to be little question who would win the race to replace Brian Sullivan as Minnesota's man on the Republican National Committee.

Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson toppled 2010 GOP gubernatorial nominee Tom Emmer on the first ballot to win election as Republican National Committeeman.

Minnesota Republicans gather this weekend at their State Central Committee meeting at the Ramada Mall of America. Tonight will feature good cheer at a variety of hospitality suites. The frivolity will give way to what's expected to be a long day of intra-party politicking on Saturday.

Pat Anderson didn't need to worry about winning over the crowd gathered at the University Club in St. Paul on Wednesday evening. Roughly 30 GOP activists and donors were on hand to raise money for her bid for state auditor.

Two of Minnesota's three Democratic constitutional officers are getting on the air as they prepare for Republican challenges in the general election.

For the past 40 years, irrespective of larger political currents, the Minnesota DFL has owned the office of state attorney general. Beginning in the middle of the first Nixon administration, the post has been occupied by an uninterrupted quartet of Democrats: Warren Spannaus (1971-82), Hubert H. "Skip" Humphrey III (1983-98), Mike Hatch (1999-2006), and Hatch protégé Lori Swanson (2007-present).

Out of the three DFL constitutional officers in Minnesota, it was Attorney General Lori Swanson who raised the most money in her re-election bid, taking in $141,000 with $203,000 in the bank.